The Ukrainian government has announced a plan to turn the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl into something incredible

The site of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters might be
on the verge of getting a makeover: The Ukrainian government has
announced a plan to transform the radioactive wasteland of
Chernobyl into a solar energy farm.

In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant suffered a
catastrophic meltdown — one of the worst in history. Thirty years
later much of the site is still unsuitable for humans to live.

Now, the Ukrainian government has concocted a plan to construct a
series of solar panels in a large chunk of land outside the
exclusion zone to harvest energy.

"The Chernobyl site has really good potential for renewable
energy," Ukraine’s environment minister Ostap Semerak
said in an interview in London. "We already have high-voltage
transmission lines that were previously used for the nuclear
stations, the land is very cheap, and we have many people trained
to work at power plants."

In addition to providing the country with cheap, clean power, the
Ukrainian government hopes that the project will make it less
dependent on Russia, which is where the country currently gets
the bulk of its natural gas.

"We have normal European priorities, which means having the best
standards with the environment and clean energy ambitions,"
Semerak told the press. "We want to be a successful Ukraine,
to show people in the conflict zone that life is better and more
comfortable with us."